Nigerian Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Crude Oil Theft

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Abu Isaac, a crude oil thief and a Nigerian national, has been ordered to serve two years in prison on charges of crude oil theft in the country. The ruling to this effect was given by Justice P. I. Ajoku at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, in Rivers State.

The ruling by the Court stated that Alu Isaac was found guilty of unlawfully dealing in petroleum products without the necessary licence to do so. The lawsuit was filed by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleging conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products.

The issue of crude oil theft has been there for a long time, but it is only during recent times that it has surged on an alarming proportion.

As per estimates provides by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the country loses approximately 700 million dollars in crude oil each month due to theft incidents. During the initial seven months of the previous year, the country has reportedly lost nearly 10 billion dollars to the criminal activity, which in turn has badly impacted the economic progress of Nigeria.

The award of pipeline surveillance contract by Nigerian authorities have contributed a lot to contain theft activities, though not able to eradicate such acts.